Clifford Allison (October 20, 1964 – August 13, 1992) was an American

stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

. Son of NASCAR champion

Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (born December 3, 1937) is a former American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant short tracks ...

, he was a member of the "

Alabama Gang The Alabama Gang was the nickname for a group of NASCAR drivers (and subsequently their offspring) who set up shop and operated out of Hueytown, Alabama (near Birmingham, Alabama). In the late 1950s, young auto racer Bobby Allison left Miami, Flo ...

". He was killed in a crash during practice for a NASCAR

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to ...

race at

Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...

in 1992.

Life and career

Son of the legendary

, nephew of

Donnie Donnie or Donny is a familiar form (hypocorism) of the masculine given name Donald, Donal, Don, or Donovan. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Donny Baldwin, American drummer best known as a member of Jefferson Starship and Stars ...

and brother to Davey, Clifford Allison was raised in Hueytown, Alabama and was a member of stock car racing's "

". Allison was seen as "crazy wild" by his relatives, and his brother stated he believed Clifford had the greater talent of the two younger Allisons.Golenbock 2006, p.309. After marrying young, he worked in a

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

for a period in the 1980s, but soon returned to Alabama and shortly after was divorced. He was then briefly crew chief for his father's

race team before the team was disbanded in 1988. By that time remarried, Allison started his racing career in earnest in the early 1990s, competing in ARCA and

NASCAR Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to ...

events; he began the 1990 season competing for rookie of the year in the Busch Series, driving for Frank Cicci, but was released after the season's seventh race for poor performances. Allison drove for Clint Folsom on a limited basis in 1991, while in 1992 he joined team owner Barry Owen, intending to run the majority of the series schedule. Allison's best finish in professional stock car racing came in an ARCA race at

Texas World Speedway Texas World Speedway (TWS) was a motorsport venue located in College Station, Texas.The track was one of only eight superspeedways of or greater in the United States used for racing, the others being Indianapolis, Daytona, Pocono, Talladeg ...

in April 1992, where he finished second.

Death

During practice for the Detroit Gasket 200, a Busch Series race at

in August 1992, Allison spun in turn four, hitting the concrete wall with the driver's side; he died shortly thereafter while in transit to hospital.Clifford Allison dies in practice run crash
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 14 August 1992. He was the first of two Allisons to die within the space of eleven months; his brother perished in a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway the following year.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allison, Clifford 1964 births 1992 deaths People from Hueytown, Alabama Racing drivers from Alabama NASCAR drivers ARCA Menards Series drivers American Speed Association drivers Sports deaths in Michigan Racing drivers who died while racing Alabama Gang Burials in Alabama